Guerilla Drive-In

Saturday, September 26, 2009 7:15 PM:
Pee-wee's Big Adventure' at Baldwin's Book Barn The BVA's Browning Barn

Rain location! Make sure you check the updated directions.

Tim Burton's First Feature Film!

This movie has it all: Adventure! Romance! High drama! Dinosaurs! A Hero's Quest! Seriously, if you took structuralism in college, I think all 31 of Levi-Strauss's themes are represented here, including "Mister T" cereal (see the video down at the bottom.)

The first feature film for both Tim Burton and Danny Elfman, "Pee-wee's Big Adventure" is actually a really good movie, not just a joke. My favorite sub-plot in the movie is the "I'm a rebel, Dottie; a loner. You don't want to get mixed up with a guy like me" scene, which appears three times, each with a totally different meaning as Pee-wee progresses through his Hero's Quest. This is Epic Drama masquerading as a puff piece. If you've never seen this movie before, NOW IS THE TIME!

You can watch the trailer for the movie here, but I think the bar scene covers all the bases: Pee-Wee, on a quest to return his stolen bike, falls into Low Company, almost meets disaster, but wins out with the strength of his conviction, his breakdancing, and his borrowed white platform shoes:

Baldwin's Book Barn

Note that we're gonna be at our RAIN LOCATION, which is the Brandywine Valley Association's Browning Barn. See below for directions

One of the lynchpins of Chester County's awesomeness, Baldwin's Book Barn is a big, rambling 1822 stone barn packed to the gills with fine used books. As you can see in their "walk through the barn" tour, there's room after room (after room) tightly packed with treasures, oddball selections, and illustrated children's books you once loved.

My favorite thing about the Book Barn is that not everything in it — not even a tithe of the things in it — are visible to the All-Seeing Eye of Amazon. You can browse the shelves and get ready for actual serendipity, since there's no way to find many of these books except by showing up and browsing the stacks.

The Book Barn will be open all day before the show, and will be open through the movie, so you can wander in, browse around, find the illustrated history of the Alamo, and come right out again.

Special Musical Guest: The Spinto Band!

If you found the MacGuffin this year, you heard The Spinto Band's message, with their wonderful instrumental cover of "Brazil" backing it (the song will be released on an upcoming album).

Nick Krill and some other members of the band will be coming out, and will be playing a song or two between the reels. Having musical intermissions something I've wanted very much since the first year of the Guerilla Drive-In, and I'm really excited to be kicking it off with such a great band. Here's their video for "Oh Mandy", which you can buy on Itunes:

Please note that this is not a full concert, or even a half- or quarter-concert. Spinto will be playing a song or two, maybe with (or maybe without) amplification; this is basically a friendly, mellow cameo for them. I'd like to work our way up to the point where we're blowing the screen down with flashpots and swinging the band out on ropes, but it'll take us a year or two to get there. So please come prepared to enjoy a few relaxed songs!

When

• Saturday, September 26th, 2009 at 7:15 PM
• Arrive at 6:30 PM for "Tequila" dance lessons by Kristen Seidle, professional dancer and choreographer. If you have white platform shoes and a grey suit, wear 'em! Recital during the movie.

What to Bring

• Chairs or blankets. We'll be sitting on the grass behind the book barn inside an awesome wooden barn.
• Warm clothes. Sixty-two degrees when you're sitting still for two hours gets pretty chilly.

Other Details

• Wheelchair access: YES (updated for the Browning Barn.)
• Dogs: Yes! No, sorry, the Brandywine Valley Association says "no dogs"
• Bathrooms: Composting toilets on site (indoor bathrooms, with running water.) (Updated for the Browning Barn)
• Kids: Kids are welcome! There's really nothing inappropriate for kids in this movie, though I plan on taking my own five-year-old inside during the clown scene. Here's the parent's guide on IMDB.

UPDATED Map and Directions

We're going to be at the Brandywine Valley Association's Browning Barn instead of Baldwin's Book Barn. It's just a few miles away.

Follow the directions below to the BVA, and park your car on the north side parking lot (next to the barn.) If that's full, you can park across the road and walk across, but look out for traffic!

If you'd like some dinner beforehand, you can stop by Northbrook Country Market just around the corner — they're open until 9PM.

Google Maps thinks that the Brandywine Valley Association's address — 1760 Unionville Wawaset Road — is a few hundred feet away from the real entrance, so the directions below will all take you to the correct latitude and longitude, not the street address. Using the GPS coordinates will get you there, but you should definitely have the "human directions" as a backup.

• Address:
  • 1760 Unionville Wawaset Road
    West Chester, PA 19382
  • Google Maps directions
  • Directions written by a human
• Coordinates:
  • Latitude: Lat: 39.9136' N
  • Longitude: 75.6801'W W

Please let me know what I left off this page by commenting this page!! See you then!

RSVPs, Comments, and Questions